Call Space Station

Next week astronauts aboard the International Space Station will host several downlinks as part of NASA’s Year of Education on Station. All of the 20-minute, Earth-to-space calls will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland will host its first in-flight education downlink on at 10:30 a.m. EDT Tuesday, July 10. Thirty-five recently graduated eighth-graders from Cleveland Metropolitan School District, True2U Neighborhood Leadership Institute, will connect with NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor for a live question-and-answer session about living and working in space. Media interested in participating should contact Jeannette Owens no later than 4 p.m. on Monday, July 9, at 216-433-2990 or [email protected].

NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, will host a second downlink Tuesday at 2:10 p.m. The downlink will give Virginia students an opportunity to speak with ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Alexander Gerst. The downlink will be held at the Virginia Air and Space Center located at 600 Settlers Landing Rd., Hampton. Media interested in covering the event should contact Kristyn Damadeo at [email protected] or 757-864-1090.

Local summer camp participants will speak with NASA astronaut Ricky Arnold Wednesday, July 11 at 10:15 a.m. Attendees will gather at NASA Goddard Visitors Center, 9432 Greenbelt Rd., Lanham, Maryland. Media interested in attending and covering the event should contact Clare Skelly at [email protected] or 301-286-4994.

Finally, the Sea Education Association in Falmouth, Massachusetts, will host a downlink on Friday, July 13 at noon. Participating students will have an opportunity to ask Arnold questions. The downlink will be held 171 Woods Hole Rd, Falmouth. To cover the event, media should contact Douglas Karlson at [email protected] or 508-241-1650.

For each of these events, kids have a chance to find out anything they would like to know about life aboard the space station, NASA’s mission and upcoming science investigations.

Linking students directly to astronauts aboard the space station provides unique, authentic experiences designed to enhance student learning, performance and interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Astronauts living in space on the orbiting laboratory communicate with NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston 24 hours a day through the Space Network's Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS).

NASA astronaut Drew Feustel will participate in a question-and-answer session hosted by tennis star and seven-time Grand Slam singles titleholder Mats Wilander on the Wimbleton Tennis Channel. The session will take place on Monday, July 9 at 6:15 a.m., and will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.